The Obama administration has delayed their decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline until after the November elections by extending its review of the controversial project indefinitely, according to Reuters.
The State Department said federal agencies will have more time to weigh in on the politically fraught decision, but did not give a specific date, Reuters reported. Officials said the decision will have to wait for the dust to settle in Nebraska, where a judge in February overturned a state law that allowed the pipeline's path through the state.
Nebraska's Supreme Court isn't expected to hear an appeal to that ruling until September or October, and there could be more legal maneuvering after the high court rules, according to Reuters.
President Barack Obama will likely have until after the November congressional elections to make the final call about whether the pipeline carrying oil from Canada should be built, Reuters reported.
Environmental groups fighting the pipeline hailed the delay and argued it shows the State Department is taking the arguments against the pipeline seriously, according to Reuters.
In a nod to environmentalists' concerns, Obama has said the pipeline will be deemed not in the U.S. interest if it contributes significantly to increasing carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change, Reuters reported.
Environmentalists say the oil pulled out of Canada's tar sands is among the dirtiest on the planet, according to Reuters. Keystone XL would carry this oil from western Canada's tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast and requires State Department approval because it crosses an international border.
The White House has insisted that Secretary of State John Kerry is in charge of the process, which involves a determination about whether the pipeline is in America's national interest, but Obama is widely expected to make the final call, Reuters reported.
